Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development
Germany
In office
27 October 1998 – 27 October 2009
Preceded by
Carl-Dieter Spranger
Succeeded by
Dirk Niebel
Personal details
Born
November 21, 1942 (1942-11-21) (age 68)
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Nationality
German
Political party
SPD
Alma mater
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Profession
Teacher
Website
heidi-wieczorek-zeul.de
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (born November 21, 1942 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party since 1965.
Career
Wieczorek-Zeul is a prominent figure of the Social Democrats' left wing and is often called "Red Heidi". From 1974 to 1977, she was the Jusos' chair which is the youth organisation of the SPD (Young Socialists).[1]
After the resignation of party leader Björn Engholm in 1993, she stood for the Social Democrats' candidacy for the chancellor's office,[2] but lost to Rudolf Scharping. Scharping won 40% of all votes cast by the party members, Schröder 33% and Wieczorek-Zeul 27%.[3] It was the first time (and so far only time) the party members were asked to elect the new party leader.
When Gerhard Schröder (SPD) became German chancellor in 1998, she served as Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development.
On August 16, 2004, at the 100th anniversary of the start of the Herero and Namaqua Genocide, Wieczorek-Zeul, in her capacity of Germany's Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, officially apologized for the first time and expressed grief about the genocide, declaring, "We Germans accept our historic and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time." In addition, she admitted that the massacres were equivalent to genocide. She ruled out paying special compensations, but promised continued economic aid for Namibia which currently amounts to $14m a year.[4]
She kept her office after Schröder's defeat in 2005. In this office she initiated the EU's target of increasing its development aid from 0.51% by 2010 to 0.7% of the GDP by 2015.[1][5]
Around this time too, she visited Kenya's sprawling slum at Mathare 4A, Kasarani District and virtually pitied Mathare 4A primary school which had been invaded and harassed by squatters. Today the old school has been replaced by a new Heidemarie (formally, Mathare 4A) Primary School, courtesy of the German Government through KfW Entwicklungsbank and the government of Kenya.
In July 2006, Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland (Central Council of Jews in Germany), demanded her resignation after Wieczorek-Zeul had called Israeli use of cluster bombs "totally unacceptable under international law".
In 2009, she criticized statements made by Pope Benedict XVI which claimed that condoms promote AIDS, when in fact they help prevent AIDS.[6]
References
^ a b http://www.bmz.de/en/ministry/leadership/zeul/lebenslaufBMin.pdf
^ Whitney, Craig R. (May 4, 1993). "German Social Democrats' Leader Quits Over Lie". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/04/world/german-social-democrats-leader-quits-over-lie.html.
^ Crawshaw, Steve (June 14, 1993). "Scharping has tough task as SPD chief: Social Democrats pick a new party leader". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/scharping-has-tough-task-as-spd-chief-social-democrats-pick-a-new-party-leader-1491538.html.
^ "Germany admits Namibia genocide". BBC News. 2004-08-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3565938.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
^ http://www.wwan.cn/webcast/summit2005/statements/ger050914eng.pdf
^ Condom backlash for Pope
External links
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Official Page of Wieczorek-Zeul
Links to related articles
v · d · eThe First Merkel Cabinet, 22 November 2005 – 28 October 2009
Franz Müntefering/Olaf Scholz (since 22 Nov 2007) (SPD) | Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) | Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) | Brigitte Zypries (SPD) | Peer Steinbrück (SPD) | Michael Glos/Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (since 10 Feb 2009) (CSU) | Horst Seehofer/Ilse Aigner (since 31 Oct 2008) (CSU) | Franz Josef Jung (CDU) | Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) | Ulla Schmidt (SPD) | Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) | Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) | Annette Schavan (CDU) | Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD) | Thomas de Maizière (CDU)
v · d · eJusos chairs
Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (1959–1962) · Holger Börner (1962–1963) · Günter Müller (1963–1967) · Peter Corterier (1967–1969) · Karsten Voigt (1969–1972) · Wolfgang Roth (1972–1974) · Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (1974–1977) · Klaus Uwe Benneter (1977) · Gerhard Schröder (1978–1980) · Willi Piecyk (1980–1982) · Rudolf Hartung (1982–1984) · Ulf Skirke (1984–1986) · Michael Guggemos (1986–1988) · Susi Möbbeck (1988–1991) · Ralf Ludwig (1991–1993) · Thomas Westphal (1993–1995) · Andrea Nahles (1995–1999) · Benjamin Mikfeld (1999–2001) · Niels Annen (2001–2004) · Björn Böhning (2004–2007) · Franziska Drohsel (2007-2010) · Sascha Vogt (since 2010)
Persondata
Name
Wieczorek-Zeul, Heidemarie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
November 21, 1942
Place of birth
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Date of death
Place of death